Gas expander

ABSTRACT

The gas expander assembly of this invention comprises a housing, a coil distally disposed in the housing in communication with a fuel supply tank and a combustion engine, and means interconnecting the housing to the engine cooling system being operable to receive heated liquid coolant materials from the engine to cause heating of fuel in the coil, and means operable to separate fuel vapors and the expanded fuel wherein fuel vapors are conducted back to the fuel supply system and expanded fuels are conducted to the engine.

United States Patent Frazier [54] GAS EXPANDER [72] Inventor: Raymond R. Frazier,

Weiser, Idaho 83172 [22] Filed: Jan. 25, 1971 [21] Appl.N0.: 109,412

Route 4,

[52] US. Cl. ..123/122 E, 123/122 R, 123/136 [51] Int. Cl. ..F02m 31/00, F02m 59/00 [58] Field of Search..l'23/122 AC, 122 B, 122 C, 122

E, 123/136, 122 F, 142.5 R, 41.2, 41.22, 122 R [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,378,063 4/1968 Mefferd ..123/122 R 3,001,519 9/1961 Dietrich et a1 ..123/136 1,384,512 7/1921 Buchi ..123/122 E 1,266,429 5/ 1918 DOrville ..123/122 E r 2,528,081 10/1950 Rodnesky ..123/12 R [4 1 Oct. 24, 1972 3,253,647 5/1966 Deshales ..123/122R 3,354,872 11/1967 Gratzmuller ..123/136 Primary ExaminerEdgar W. Geoghegan Assistant Examiner-A. M. Zupcic Attorney-John W. Kraft [57] ABSTRACT The gas expander assembly of this invention comprises a housing, a coil distally disposed in the housing in communication with a fuel supply tank and a combustion engine, and means interconnecting the housing to the engine cooling system being operable to receive heated liquid coolant materials from the engine to cause heating of fuel in the coil, and means operable to separate fuel vapors and the expanded fuel wherein fuel vapors are conducted back to the fuel supply system and expanded fuels are conducted to the engine.

1 Claim, 4 Drawing Figures PATENTEUIJCT 24 I972 SHEET 1 0F 2 RAYMOND R. FRAZIER mvsmoa PATENTEUHBTZMBYZ 3.699.938

snmzurz RAYMOND R. FRAZIER INVENTOR.

GAS EXPANDER FIELD OF INVENTION The present invention relates to fuel systems for combustion engines and more particularly to a fuel system including means for heating fuels and being operable to expand the fuels to a state where said fuels are more readily consumable in combustible engines known in the art and to increase the operating efficiency of said engines.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART Combustion engines including fuel supply systems known in the prior art usually consume fuels from the system which are at or near ambient temperatures. It is known that a lesser efficiency with respect to fuel consumption may be observable at lower temperatures. It appears from tests that fuels at temperatures near the flash point are more readily consumed in the engine, providing measurable increase in efficiency of the engine. Heretofore, engine preheaters and starting means have been used and employed, particularly in connection with diesel burning engines. However, after engines are started such preheating means are shut down and the engine is operated alone.

Accordingly, it is an extremely important object of this invention to provide means operable to continuously preheat and expand fuels to be delivered to a combustion engine.

A further object of the invention is to provide a gas expander assembly which may be adapted to engines in use without modification to the engine structure, and to provide an inexpensive assembly of simple construction.

These and other objects shall become apparent from the description following, it being understood that modifications may be made without affecting the teachings of the invention here set out.

The gas expander assembly of this invention comprises a housing, a coil distally disposed in the housing in communication with a fuel supply tank and a combustion engine, and means interconnecting thehousing to the engine cooling system being operable to receive heated liquid coolant materials from the engine to cause heating of fuel in the coil, and means operable to separate fuel vapors and the expanded fuel wherein fuel vapors are conducted back to the fuel supply system and expanded fuels are conducted to the engine.

A more thorough and comprehensive understanding may be had from the detailed description of the preferred embodiment when read in connection with the drawings forming a part of this specification.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the gas expander assembly of the present invention shown in the environment of a commonly known combustion engine and fuel tank both of which are indicated by broken lines for illustrative purposes.

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the gas expander assembly of this invention drawn to a larger scale, one wall of the gas expander assembly being broken away to show construction of the coiled portion of the fuel supply conduit disposed in the housing of the assembly.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring nowto'the drawings and more particularly I to the FIG. 1, the gas expander assembly of the present invention, designated by the numeral 10 is shown to advantage disposed between a commonly known internal combustion engine 11 and a fuel tank 12. Fuel from the tank 12 is caused to be pumped from the tank through a conduit 13, the expander assembly 10 and a conduit 14 by a commonly known fuel pump 15 operatively connected to the engine 11. A line 16 in operative communication with the cooling system of the engine 1 1 is connected at one of the terminal ends of a housing 17 of the gas expander 10. Heated liquid coolant material exhausted from the engine 11 is caused to flow through the line 16 and into the housing 17. A coolant return line 18 is connected at one of its terminal ends to an exitway assembly 19 suitably fixed to the terminal end of the housing 17 opposite the line 16. The opposite terminal end of the line 19 is connected to a common radiator assembly 20 of the engine 11. In this manner, heated liquid coolant material is caused to be circulated out of the engine 11 through the line 16, the housing 17, the exitway assembly 19 and the coolant return line 18 to the radiator 20 and thence through the engine assembly 11. The conduit 13 carrying fuel from the tank 12 includes I a coiled portion 21 distally disposed in the housing 17 of the expander assembly 10 shown to advantage in the FIG. 2. Fuel in coiled portion 21 of the conduit 13 is heated by heated liquid coolant material flowing through housing 17 as hereinbefore described, consequently causing the fuel in the coiled portion 21 to be expanded. A vapor-fuel separator means 22 is connected to the upstanding terminal end portion 23 of the conduit 13. The separator means 22 may comprise a substantially T-shaped body 22 having the horizontal leg portion 24 thereof inclined at an angle. One of the terminal ends of the conduit 14 disposed between the pumps 15 of the engine assembly 11 is connected to the lowermost exit portion of the inclined leg portion 24. A vapor line 25 is connected at one of its temiinal ends to the uppermost exit portion of the inclined leg portion 24 opposite the conduit 14 and at its opposite terminal end to the uppermost wall of the fuel tank 12. Expanded heated liquid fuel from conduit 13 being heavier than vapors escaping therefrom tends to flow through the lowermost portion of leg portion 24 and through the conduit 14 and the pump 15 and into the engine 11, while the vapors exhausted from the expanded heated liquid fuel tend to rise and be conducted through vapor line 25 to the fuel tank 12.

A further embodiment of the vapor-fuel separation means identified by the numeral 26 is shown to advantage in the FIGS. 3 and 4. Although the means 22 and 26 are functionally similar, each of the means are distinct in construction. The means 26 includes a substantially inverted V-shapecl housing 27 having an upper portion operable to provide a vapor chamber for vapors exhausted from expanded heated liquid fuel which may functionally be compared to the uppermost portion of the inclined leg portion 24 in communication with the 'vapor line 25. A multiplicity of baffle plates 28 are distally disposed in the housing between the vapor chamber and the lowermost wall of the housing. The plates 28 permit passage of exhausted vapors therethrough and at the same time tend to provide a barrier between the liquid fuel and the exhausted vapors. Therefore, expanded heated liquid fuel is less likely to be conducted back into the tank 12 through the line 25 which has been found in practice to occassionally result in syphoning of fuel from the tank directly through separator means of other configurations and through the conduit 14, thereby bypassing the expander assembly 12. The upstanding portion of conduit 13 is connected to a horizontal entranceway 29 disposed in one side wall of the housing 27. The conduit 14 is connected to the lowermost wall of the housing 27 distally opposite the entranceway 29. Expanded heated fuel from conduit 13 thus tends to flow through the lowermost portion of the means 26.

In practice it has been found that fuel heated to higher temperatures is more readily and efficiently consumed in combustion engines in common usage. Referring again to the FIG. 1 a bypass valve 30 may be provided in the exitway assembly 19 having one side of the valve 30 connected to the coolant return line 18 and the opposite side of the valve 30 connected to a preheating coolant return line having a coiled portion 32 distally disposed in the tank 12, the line 31 being in communication with the radiator 20 to provide means by which fuel in the tank 12 may be preheated. By preheating fuel in the tank 12, the fuel entering the expander assembly may be elevated to a higher temperature by the expander before entering the combustion engine 11. Substantially greater increase in combustion of fuels and efficiency of engines has been particularly discernable during cold weather conditions.

Having thus described in detail a preferred apparatus which embodies the concepts and principles of the invention and which accomplishes the various objects, purposes and aims thereof, it is to be appreciated and will be apparent to those skilled in the art, that many physical changes could be made in the apparatus without altering the inventive concepts and principles embodied therein. Hence, it is intended that the scope of the invention be limited only to the extent indicated in the appended claims.

Iclaim: 4 I

1. A liquid fuel expanding device for combustion engines comprising a housing, a coil distally disposed in said housing having one of its terminal ends extending through one of the walls of said housing and connected to a liquid fuel tank and the opposite terminal end thereof connected to a liquid-vapor separating means, said liquid-vapor separating means being operable to permit passage of liquid fuel in one direction out of said means and to permit passage of vapor from said means in another direction out of said liquid-vapor separating means, heating means in said housing operable to heat said coil and liquid fuel carried thereby, said liquidvapor se aratin means comprising a substantially elongate triang larly shaped housing including opposing end walls, an entranceway in one of said end walls of said housing connected to the said opposite terminal end of said coil, an exitway in the opposite end wall of said housing connected to a fuel line in communication with a fuel pump and a combustion engine, said entranceway and said exitway being juxtapositioned in the lowermost base portions of each of said respective end walls and being parallel to each other, a multiplicity of baffles distally disposed in the upper portion of said liquid-vapor separating means housing above said entranceway and said exitway, an exhaustway distally disposed in the apex portion of said substantially elongated triangularly shaped housing above said bafiles, a line connected to said exhaustway, said line being in communication with said liquid fuel tank and being operable to exhaust vapor out of said liquid-vapor separating means. 

1. A liquid fuel expanding device for combustion engines comprising a housing, a coil distally disposed in said housing having one of its terminal ends extending through one of the walls of said housing and connected to a liquid fuel tank and the opposite terminal end thereof connected to a liquid-vapor separating means, said liquid-vapor separating means being operable to permit passage of liquid fuel in one direction out of said means and to permit passage of vapor from said means in another direction out of said liquid-vapor separating means, heating means in said housing operable to heat said coil and liquid fuel carried thereby, said liquid-vapor separating means comprising a substantially elongated triangularly shaped housing including opposing end walls, an entranceway in one of said end walls of said housing connected to the said opposite terminal end of said coil, an exitway in the opposite end wall of said housing connected to a fuel line in communication with a fuel pump and a combustion engine, said entranceway and said exitway being juxtapositioned in the lowermost base portions of each of said respective end walls and being parallel to each other, a multiplicity of baffles distally disposed in the upper portion of said liquid-vapor separating means housing above said entranceway and said exitway, an exhaustway distally disposed in the apex portion of said substantially elongated triangularly shaped housing above said baffles, a line connected to said exhaustway, said line being in communication with said liquid fuel tank and being operable to exhaust vapor out of said liquid-vapor separating means. 